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Topic: Using real chocolate (Read 3194 times)

The flavoring used for coffee can and do get used...be careful how much you add though... I've personally found Stirling brand to be the best one. Also with any brand you pick, look around, they have multiple chocolate flavors...

I've only used cocoa nibs and found that if they are put in the boil they will contribute a fair amount of bitterness but the the aroma disappears. I have been adding them at flame out and letting them steep for about 15 minutes before I cool the wort. This gives decent chocolate aroma but not a ton of flavor. After reading some of the previous post maybe I'll try adding some cocoa powder along with the nibs.

I think the quality of the chocolate (in whatever form) will affect the final product...so I would not use hershey's and if you use a cheap chocolate flavoring your beer will taste like tootsie rolls...of course if you really like tootsie rolls go for it

I've used the extract (Watkins), and my experience is that a little goes a long way. Try 1/4 oz at a time in a 5 gallon batch and see if it's to your liking. It does add a nice chocolate flavor. More is definitely not better, but quite the opposite.

I've read that Rogue uses chocolate extract in their chocolate stout that was developed for export to Japan, but is available here.

I have been messing around with cacao nibs a lot in the last 6 months. I have always put them in secondary (usually tied to a keg dip tube in a vodka soaked disposable hop bag). Yes, gently crush the nibs before placing in the bag.

I find that the crush + Vodka bag help to pull out more flavor of the chocolate into the beer. A min of 4 weeks is needed. Warm or cold didn't make too much difference as far as secondary temp controlled.

The last thing is that the chocolate flavors really opened up more in a darker and higher ABV beer than lighter ABV and color beers.

I have worked on blond ales, american ryes, and Baltic porters with nibs. Makes sense to me, but the Baltic Porter was the best!

Remember, Cacao nibs are not chocolate. So plan the beer to have a nice residual gravity or a big mouthfeel (rye really helps here) to help give the "chocolate flavor" more push in your finished beer. Early tastes of the nibs will give you an earthly aroma and flavor, but tends to die out over a month.

I have used cocoa powder in making a chocolate blond. I was not having the sweetness I wanted so I added 8 oz. of lactose, it is unfermentable by yeast so it will stay in the beer. Next batch I am planning on using the chocolate extract. My beer is based off of a chocolate blond brewed at America's Brewpub in Aurora, IL. My loves the beer, because it is not a stout or porter that you usually find that has chocolate added to it.